Why are the giants Apple, Meta and Google targeted by a European Union investigation ?

Les trois géants sont ciblés par une enquête de l'Union européenne. MaxPPP

The European Commission launched investigations on Monday against the American digital giants Apple, Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, owned by Alphabet, for non-compliance with the regulation on digital markets, announced this Monday March 25, 2024 the European executive in a press release.

"The Commission believes that the measures implemented by these actors do not comply with the obligations set out by the DMA (Digital Markets Regulation)&quot ;, says this press release. European legislation on digital markets (Digital Markets Act, DMA) provides for a fine of up to 10% of turnover in the event of an infringement worldwide of the group concerned.

Three targeted groups

The European competition watchdog specifies that it will investigate Google Play and Google Search, the App Store and the "model of payment or consent" from Meta. All three groups recently introduced new fees for some of their services.

Meta, which set up an advertising-free subscription service in Europe last November, will have to offer free alternative options, specifies Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market. Google, which said it had made significant changes to its services, indicated it would defend its approach in the coming months. Apple, for its part, declared that it was convinced that its plan was compliant with the DMA.

The Commission also took steps to investigate Apple's new pricing structure for alternative App Stores, as well as Amazon's ranking practices on its site merchant.

The European executive, which intends to close the investigations within one year, as provided for in the DMA, indicated that it had ordered the companies to keep certain documents, which will allow him to access relevant information in the context of his current and future investigations.